Five protestors were recently found guilty of 'intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour' directed at BBC journalist Nicholas Watt on June 14, 2021. This is despite the fact that none of the police present on the day - and there were at least thirty police present at the time - did anything, or reported anything, and Nicholas Watt himself did not report anything. The incident took place in Whitehall at the time Boris Johnson was expected to announce the extension of lockdown.
Police action only occurred after a video of the incident went viral on YouTube, when Nicholas Watt was asked if he wanted to press charges. The 5 were then subsequently arrested on various dates - Gary and Jazzy nearly five months later! Chris - who was banging on a pot - was violently apprehended, initially wrongly charged with assault, and then spent 22 hours in Brixton police station.
Perhaps the most glaring feature of the court case was the absence of one of the three men Nicholas Watt identified in his witness statement. This man actually grabbed Mr Watt and is heard threatening him. For some reason the police were unable to find this man, yet his presence in the video - and in the judges summing-up - appears to have incriminated the others by association.
The role of the police in this case is disappointing in the extreme. Rather than being 'Inspector Morse' or some other fictional character of the BBC, it shows them as being bully boys for their Whitehall masters.
Piers Corbyn says "The verdict is politically motivated and designed to intimidate us and is happening in parallel with attacks on alternative media such as Unity News Network. The Ministry Of Truth is here."
Update: Aug 31 2022
4 of the charged showed up to court to receive sentencing and one did not attend court.
The four were fined £395 for costs and a court service charge as well as 100-200 hrs of community service. Significantly, the prosecutor wanted them to be banned from large parts of London, but the judge refused this.
Chris didn't show up to sentencing in protest at the absurdity of the case. There is now a warrant for his arrest.
Update: Sep 15, 2022 Chris attended his sentencing hearing and received 250 hours community service and a fine. He will be appealing.
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